tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post2728749602382670192..comments2023-07-17T11:55:51.363+02:00Comments on ObservingGreece: Greek Bond Sale --- "A Hugely Significant Step?"kleinguthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-70322516497623510962014-04-11T08:47:28.695+02:002014-04-11T08:47:28.695+02:00I think you have hit the nail on the head!I think you have hit the nail on the head!kleinguthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12491174042954678023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-53066702604704219842014-04-11T05:58:38.801+02:002014-04-11T05:58:38.801+02:00So, Greece has issued the first EURO bonds.
Lennar...So, Greece has issued the first EURO bonds.<br />LennardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-12352697502529068802014-04-10T16:45:59.352+02:002014-04-10T16:45:59.352+02:00The entire issue about being able to borrow from t...The entire issue about being able to borrow from the international markets has no relevance at all for the Greek economy. This is a political game being played by the Samaras government and the German government (aided and abetted by the Troika). Since the markets are being reassured by political structures and not by economic success, the development is merely an affirmation that austerity measures will continue ad infinitum. This also implies that the real economy will continue to deteriorate, that unemployment will further increase, and real standards of living will continue to decline.<br /><br />Moreover, since the message is that Greece is caught in a debt trap that nobody has any intention of solving, along with the failure of institutions to protect economic structures, there are precisely no reasons for FDI to increase. On the contrary, I would advise investors to stay away from Greece until the politicians in Greece and Germany have been removed and the economy is allowed to function in a normal manner. That means, of course, debt forgiveness or long-term restructuring. It might also mean exiting the euro -- something the Germans are determined to prevent.Guest(xenos)http://www.mmo.grnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5882645467378797266.post-22744462365255603382014-04-09T22:19:21.812+02:002014-04-09T22:19:21.812+02:00I generally agree with the article: Greece should ... I generally agree with the article: Greece should have waited to borrow from the markets. But elections are approaching and the need for a success story overpowers anything else, including the obvious interests of the country. (Assumimg that this market excursion was not ordered by Ch. Merkel to improve her election success story)<br /> However there is a phrase that is important:"The difference with Greece is that Buffett did not have an explicit and/or implicit pay-back guarantee<br /> from the US government." No Greek will ever believe such a thing deep in his heart. If somebody were to defend such a position betwenn Greeks he/she will be considered either naive or having a vested interest (eg our blog author will be considered to have such interest, being a banker). Most Greeks will tell you that somebody (the president?) guaranteed the payback. In actual fact most Greeks will tell you that all markets are politically rigged and they only way to make money in them is to belong to some secret political cabal. The wide gap between this premodern line of thinking and the modern world is striking and at the root of the Greek problem. What make things even more difficult to manage is that Greeks are not obviously premodern. This creates confusion and the feeling (often correct) that Greeks are cheating.<br /> My opinion?Sloppy, doctrinal thinking all around.It is obvious that large, sensitive, long term financial commitments in turbulent times require <br />political guarantees that they will not go south. Not necessarily an explicit or implicit repayment guarantee but lets say some high level inside <br />information or the inside track on some important new regulation etc. In my view our blog author is wrong here: there was some payback in this GS decision.However this does not imply that all Buffett investment decisions are politically motivated, as a Greek will immediatelly conclude. My guess is that only a handfull, out of thousands, of Buffett investment decisions were of political nature. Most Greeks also confuse political decisions ("do this Mr Buffett to get me reelected and I will give access to NSA intelligence about the companies you want to invest to") with political considerations ie we will invest in Coca-Cola because, among other things, it will buy us some political kudos. I think this confusion is often deliberate, in order to justify a completely politicised view of the world. If I had to choose digitally between the two doctrines I will side with our blog author anytime, as this doctrine produces wealth and is correct 99,99% percent of the time. However if we are to seriously improve things in our little corner of the globe at least, a healthy dosage of cynicism is required, just not to the extreme levels preferred by Greeks.theAthensdognoreply@blogger.com